Donahue, IA

Donahue is a Scott County city of 335 residents at the 2020 census, and its story starts with a depot. The community formed around the Davenport and St. Paul Railroad in 1871 and took its name from Michael Donahue, a Davenport promoter. The old rail connection is still represented at Scott County's Pioneer Village, where the Donahue train depot was moved in 1978 after serving the town for a century.

ATTRFarragutful / CC BY-SA 4.0

The train is gone from Main Street, but school life still gives Donahue a daily gathering point. John Glenn Elementary sits in town as one of North Scott Community School District's five elementary schools. Older students head to Eldridge for junior high and high school, so the town's school map reaches into the neighboring community. The school is on Main Street, keeping a piece of Donahue's original center in use. The rails are gone, but the town still organizes its story around connections outward. The school and old depot make that history easy to follow.